Studying Latin in secondary education is still widespread in Europe and believed to result in cognitive benefits, even beyond the linguistic domain. In this study we explored the relation between such study and later academic achievement in higher education (N = 1,898). First, we demonstrated that Latin students exhibit increased levels of study…

We tested a theoretical model that integrated regulatory focus, second language (L2) self-guides, anxiety and enjoyment, eager and vigilant L2 use, and L2 achievement. We collected data from 324 students learning English as a foreign language. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) the promotion focus positively predicted ideal…

The present study administered six test instruments to 13- to 14-year-old learners of English in Austria and Sweden (N = 213), countries offering settings with more explicit and implicit learning environments, respectively. Confirmatory Factor Analyses for Austria yielded a factor comprising timed grammaticality judgment tests, an oral narrative…

Researchers have linked vivid mental imagery, particularly of the self in future states, to many desirable motivational outcomes for language learning. We report a preregistered conceptual replication and extension of You, Dörnyei, and Csizér (2016), who found a central motivational role for vision. We review essential considerations in structural…

Recent theorizing on second language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language learners' vision of their desired future language selves. This would suggest that the intensity of motivation is partly dependent on the learners' capability to generate mental imagery. In order to test this hypothesis, this study…

This nonexperimental study explored the predictive strength of English proficiency levels on academic achievement of middle school students in a sample of 17,470 native English-speaking (NES) students, 558 English language learners (current ELLs), and 500 redesignated fluent English proficient students (former ELLs). Results of multilevel analyses…

We present one of the first behavior-genetic studies of individual differences in school students' levels of achievement in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). We assessed these language abilities in Australian twin pairs (maximum N pairs = 251) by means of teacher ratings, class rankings, and self-ratings of proficiency, and used the…

The present study aims to provide observational evidence on the relationship between teachers' use of motivational strategies and students' motivated behavior in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, 741 male learners of English from 26 secondary school classes taught by 17 teachers participated in the study. The…

The objective of this investigation was to examine the influence of self-efficacy and other motivational self-beliefs on the achievement of college intermediate French students (N= 303). Self-efficacy for self-regulation was a stronger predictor of intermediate French language achievement than were self-efficacy to obtain grades in French, French…

This paper gives an account of a project exploring 12- and 13-year-old children's uses of strategies while solving reading and writing test tasks in English as a foreign language EFL. The study was conducted to provide insights into how learners go about solving tasks and what they think and rely on while doing them. The first part provides an…

The socioeducational model of second language acquisition postulates that language learning is a dynamic process in which affective variables influence language achievement and achievement and experiences in language learning can influence some affective variables. Five classes of variable are emphasized: integrativeness, attitudes toward the…

In this study, college students classified as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who had fulfilled the foreign language (FL) requirement were compared with students classified as learning disabled (LD) or both LD and ADHD who had either substituted courses for the college FL requirement petition or had passed FL courses…

The effect of three affective student characteristics, in comparison with selected student ability characteristics, on course grade in elementary language courses is examined. Results imply that affective characteristics have at least as much influence on learning as do ability factors. (Author/RM)

Studied the relationships between the personality types of a group of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students in Indonesia and various measures of their academic performance in a course with EFL language measures. Students were almost evenly divided between extroverts and introverts with a distribution of types similar to those of…

A study was conducted to examine the changes in students' attitudes, motivation and French achievement during a five-week, residential, summer program. Sixty-two students were administered a battery of attitude and motivation tests as well as a test of oral French proficiency prior to, and upon completion of, the course. (CFM)